Title

Authors

Abstract

This casebook provides an in-depth look at one area of environmental law, toxic substances and hazardous wastes. The laws in this field are primarily designed to protect human health from toxic agents. The high stakes involved and the billions of dollars spent every year on implementation make this field highly controversial. A fundamental function of government is to protect citizens from harm, but there is widespread disagreement on how to measure risk, how to manage it, how much we should spend to address it, and which level of .government should take the lead role. Scientists play a crucial role in the implementation of these laws. They also serve as expert witnesses in private litigation over toxic hazards. But there are major disagreements about how scientific advice should interact with the regulatory process and about the extent to which scientific opinion should be balanced or supplemented with input from community groups and laypeople.